Training Day
by Shimy
Summary: Happens after 'Footprints'. Winter has almost passed, and Astrid has kept her word: she's the one who trains him. And today is another training day. One-shot.


**Author's note: Don't tell me. You've bought the DVD today! Well, lucky you! I have to wait until November, 3rd. :-(( But, hey, I'm still happy for you guys! ^^ So, um, I had this idea and since I had some time to spare -for once- I decided to write it down. And I still don't own HTTYD. Obviously. Please give me some feedback if you like this! ;-)**

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"Hiccup, would you get up and come here already!"

Toothless cracked an eye open and let out a displeased groan whilst Hiccup ignored Astrid's distant, yet exasperated voice and buried his face deeper in his pillow. There was _no way_ he was getting up now. The sun hadn't even risen over the whale's road yet! And anyway, Astrid would not dare to enter his bedroom without his permission...would she?

_No_, Hiccup decided instantly as he got back to sleep, although imagining the contrary made a cold shiver run down his spine. _No, she wouldn't_. Toothless, on the other hand, was pretty sure Astrid was perfectly capable of rushing into his human's bedroom and drag him outside if she deemed it necessary. Which, judging by the way he could hear her storming up the stairs, she did. The Night Fury reluctantly got up and tried to nudge his rider awake before disaster struck, to no avail. Hiccup would not budge, and Astrid was getting closer.

When the black dragon heard the door being opened noiselessly, he turned around and stared at the blonde Viking. Astrid was wearing her usual clothes and armour, plus her usual fur coat since the air was still chilling. Indeed, although winter was slowly coming to an end to let spring replace it, going outside without some extra furs was synonymous of deliberately wanting to catch an atrocious cold. Toothless quickly trotted over to where Astrid stood, sniffed her and she patted him gently on his snout to greet him.

"Morning, ô mighty salamander."

The Night Fury knew Astrid liked to tease him and, purring, he suddenly sat on his rear end in front of the teenage girl he'd grown to like almost as much as Hiccup himself. Letting out a low whine, the dragon flattened his ears in a miserable way and looked expectantly at her, his pupils as dilated as could be. Astrid stared at him for a second, and then snorted.

"Good try, Toothless, but I don't buy 'cute' or 'lost puppy'. I'm waking him now, whether he likes it or not. Besides, he's the one who asked for it!"

And although Toothless couldn't exactly disagree with that, he still didn't like the bucket of water Astrid had brought with her. A mischievous grin spreading on her face, Astrid noiselessly strode along to stand aside Hiccup's bed, lifted the bucket she was holding at arms' length whilst Toothless literally cringed, and...

SPLASH!

"Aaaah! What the...?"

A bare-chested Hiccup shot up, and he looked around him, blinking and confused as to why he was completely soaking wet while he was inside his house. And then he saw his girlfriend staring down at him with a strange look on her face; an odd mix between a frown and a smirk.

"Astrid! Hi, Astrid, hi Astrid, hi-

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We've been through this before."

"Uh...dare I ask what you're doing in my bedroom?"

"What does it look like, genius? I've come to kick your damn ass out of here, since you obviously can't do it on your own!"

"But...I mean, Astrid, you can't just come into my bedroom like that! I'm not even properly dressed!"

For a moment, Hiccup feared the beating up was going to start, but Astrid merely chuckled.

"So? I'm your girlfriend, aren't I? That means I'm kinda _entitled_ to see your body, remember?"

"Th-That's not the point," Hiccup cried indignantly, his cheeks the darkest shade of red Astrid had ever seen, "I mean, how would _you_ react if I walked upon you in your bedroom and see you half-naked?"

Time froze, Toothless let out a snort and Astrid blinked. _Did he really just say that? _

The very second those last words went past his lips, Hiccup wished he could vanish in thin air and clenched his teeth, his eyes closed tightly, waiting for the blow that never came. Instead, he heard Astrid burst out laughing.

"Well, I think you would enjoy the sight. But if I were you, I wouldn't even try. Unless you'd like to enjoy a _close_ encounter with my axe, that is. Anyway," the blonde Viking added while throwing at Hiccup his pants, belt, tunic and fur vest, "get up and put these on! It's time."

"Time for what?"

"Training! And don't give me that look; we should have started half-an hour ago! Come on, move it! We're gonna put some flesh on these bones of yours! I want you to be downstairs with me in five minutes."

Hiccup stared in shock at the retreating form of Astrid's body as she exited the room, and then turned to kook at his dragon who was giving him his trademark gummy smile.

"Some friend you are, you useless reptile. Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this?"

"I heard that!"

Hiccup thought he really needed to learn how to make comments in a lower voice, so Astrid wouldn't hear them. Astrid had been training him progressively – she had paid very close attention to his leg and always seemed to know when to stop to prevent it from hurting him-and to her credit, Hiccup had to admit she was a very efficient teacher. Maybe even too efficient for his own liking. Sighing, he began to dress himself up. New days were dawning. And this one was going to be one heck of a day.

* * *

Toothless and Starkad loved the beach, and both dragons were currently busy chasing after seagulls which flew away whilst letting out terrified sounds. Vikings usually liked the beach, too. On a normal day, it really was a pleasant place to be at. Then again, on a normal day, Hiccup wouldn't have been woken up by receiving a whole bucket of freezing water on his face. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't remember the last time his whole body was hurting like this. They had spent the whole day training like mad, and Astrid wasn't even out of breath! Seriously, he didn't get it. She was human, after all, wasn't she? As the question echoed in his mind, he considered the possibility that she was some kind of godly being that had been sent on Midgard for some holy purpose nobody was aware of and that, one day or another, she would disappear and leave him completely alone and...

"Focus, Hiccup!"

The teenage boy snapped out of it instantly and ducked just in time to dodge the swing Astrid had made with her sword, Dagmar, eliciting a rare compliment from his girlfriend as she got into position again. Both Vikings made their respective blades brush against the other; the traditional salute that foreshadowed a one-on-one combat. Astrid gripped Dagmar with both of her hands, her legs flexed and her feet slightly apart, ready to strike whereas Hiccup brought his own sword –a random one he had picked up at the forge while passing by- in front of his face, his right hand curled tightly around it whilst his left arm was spread in an attempt to secure his balance. Flexing his knees in the same way Astrid had, he waited, ready to defend himself.

Without any warning, Astrid leapt forward, aiming for the boy's stomach. Hiccup didn't flinch and parried the blow. But what he had not foreseen was how the sheer force of the impact, which made him drop his sword. One corner of Astrid's mouth curled up in a smirk. Hiccup let out a groan and dodged another swing. Acting out of instinct, he bent down without keeping eye-contact and picked up his sword with his _left_ hand.

The two Vikings circled each other. Hiccup narrowed his eyes, looking his opponent over. He tried as hard as he could to block his emotions away, but the relationship Astrid and he shared now was making it hard. Astrid was strong, swift and observant. She was the best warrior of their generation and, Hiccup knew, she had an advantage over him the others did not have. For Astrid knew his major weakness. His weakness was her. And she exploited it unabashedly. Whenever the moves she made enabled it, her lips would linger for a second on one of his cheeks, or worse, on his lips. Hiccup was purely torn between frustration and distraction.

Astrid ignored the confusion in her boyfriend's eyes and lunged.

Hiccup was surprised by the sudden attack, and landed roughly on his back in the dirt. He slid about a foot with Astrid keeling on his chest. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth in a grimace of sudden determination, which seemed to surprise the girl above him. He shoved his palms into Astrid's chest, hard enough for her to stagger back for a couple of seconds, a precious time which Hiccup used to escape from underneath her.

He jumped to his feet – both the valid and the metal one- staying poised to brace himself for another attack. Astrid stood up as well and faced Hiccup, looking at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Impressive," she finally said, grinning wickedly.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Hiccup asked her, ignoring the sarcastic complement. Since when was Astrid the sarcastic one, anyway?

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied easily, although the way she was smiling told another story.

"I mean trying to kiss me –wait, scratch the 'trying' part - when we're supposed to be fighting!"

"C'mon, Hiccup," Astrid began, seeming genuinely amused by what he was asking, "You need to remember this: **during a fight, nothing exists but your opponent**_._ I'm merely helping you to learn how to stay perfectly focused."

Hiccup stared at her incredulously, his eyes growing wide with surprise. "And you don't take _any _pleasure in doing it that way, I suppose?" He asked, hoping for some protest from her. He didn't receive any from his once-again silent opponent.

They didn't say anything more, only glared, watching for signs of another attack. Hiccup circled, slowly working his way towards Astrid. They were only about a foot away from each other when Hiccup finally lashed out.

He sent a wild vertical slice towards Astrid's shoulder as a diversion. Thinking that is was the actual attack, Astrid blocked it. But then Hiccup advanced on her, throwing a punch into his girlfriend's stomach. Astrid staggered back for a second, taken by surprise, but immediately riposted. Both swords slammed against each other and the duel suddenly became a dance. Slices, stabs, punches, kicks and every other attacks either found their target or were dodged, and for the first time since she had begun to train Stoick's son, Astrid felt deep inside her that he could actually beat her. She had thought she would not bear it, but the only feeling that filled her at that precise moment was pride. She was proud of her, of the work she'd done as a teacher, and above all, she was proud of him. As that realization crept slowly into her mind, Astrid suddenly realized she had let her guard down for a second. But it had been enough. Hiccup sent a final swing, made Dagmar cleave through the air, leaving the blonde Viking without any weapon but her fists and pointed the tip of his sword at her throat. And only then did he seem to realize what he had just accomplished.

When Astrid snapped out of her bewildered state and found her breath once more, she whispered, "Congratulations, Hiccup." Her expression was no longer cold and harsh and warrior-like, as it had been, but returned to the way Hiccup was now used to seeing her. It was then that he realized that not only was Astrid an excellent fighter, but also an excellent actress. The cold-heartedness had been a show, most likely to throw Hiccup off. It had worked. Hiccup felt like the biggest imbecile in Midgard for thinking that Astrid would ever act like that with him.

Hiccup lowered his blade and stared at the beautiful young woman in front of him. She was only slightly smiling, but her eyes were filled with pride. He grinned back at her idiotically, not sure what to make of the whole event. This made her begin to laugh, and he did the same.

Astrid came next to him. "We should have figured out sooner that holding your sword in your left hand would do the trick," she told Hiccup before leaning in to kiss him deeply. "And for the record," she added as an afterthought as they both pulled their lips apart, "I let you win."

"Of course…," Hiccup acquiesced jokingly.

"You don't believe me? Get down."

"What?"

"Get down."

Eyebrows furrowed, Hiccup smelled a rat but complied anyway, lying down on the ground so his back was facing the sky. He instantly regretted it as he felt Astrid sit down on his back and settle herself comfortably in a crossed-leg position.

"What- What are you doing?"

"I'm enjoying the view. Nice shoulder-blades, by the way."

Astrid knew he was blushing furiously and she secretly savored it. But, hey, he had dared to beat her, so he needed to remember that she was still the teacher and he was still her student.

"Alright, Hic', you're in for fifty push-ups."

"WHAT?"

"Don't complain, or I'll change my mind and ask for hundred."

"Oh, man…"

* * *

When Toothless and Starkad came back from their endless chase since there were no more seagulls to scare away, they were both met with a strange sight. Both dragons wondered why the blonde human female was sitting on the Night Fury's rider's back when she could have ridden her Deadly Nadder and taken flight. Cocking their heads to the side, the powerful reptiles peered at their humans and listened.

"Sixty-five…sixty-six…sixty-seven…"

Human beings were strange creatures.


End file.
